Auburn, UAB, Jacksonville State penalized

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Auburn men’s basketball team lost a scholarship because of subpar academic scores, while UAB took a hit in football and basketball — and Jacksonville State also faces potential penalties in both sports.

The NCAA took away a scholarship from Jeff Lebo’s Auburn team because of scores released Wednesday. Auburn also lost scholarships in men’s track and swimming, but all the scholarship sanctions were self-imposed during the current academic year, leaving the teams with full allotments next season.

Athletic director Jay Jacobs said failing to meet the NCAA’s benchmarks of 925 — on a scale of up to 1,000 — in every sport is “unacceptable.“ Scores are calculated based on data from the fall semester in 2004 through the spring semester in 2008. Teams that fall below 925 can be subjected to immediate penalties.

“We are committed to ensuring that every student-athlete in every sport at Auburn is given the support they need to succeed academically,“ Jacobs said. “While we are pleased that 18 of our 21 sports met the NCAA’s benchmark for academic progress, we will not be satisfied until all of our sports reach this level.“

UAB was the only Football Bowl Subdivision school to have practice times cut in both football and men’s basketball because of subpar academic scores. New Mexico State was the only other FBS team that was an offender in both men’s basketball and football.

UAB lost one scholarship in men’s basketball but was spared a similar penalty in football because of a rise in scores last year that weren’t counted in the latest score.

“The priority that I had when I came in to take this job as the UAB AD (in February 2007) was to instill an academic excellence culture,“ UAB athletic director Brian Mackin said. “I think we invested with people, with our academic staff and technology. Adding those two elements, we definitely changed the culture academically and the trend is up and headed in the right direction.“

Jacksonville State, meanwhile, could face a postseason ban in football but has requested a waiver. The NCAA has not announced when a decision will be made.

JSU loses a scholarship and practice time in men’s basketball.

“Fourteen of (the programs) are doing well and at or above where they need to be,“ athletic director Oval Jaynes said. “The other two are making progress to get to where they need to be.“

He said the NCAA asked the university not to comment on the waiver process.

At the University of Alabama, men’s basketball was the only program to fall under the benchmark, scoring 922. The score won’t result in immediate penalties because no players failed to regain eligibility in the subsequent reporting period after being ruled ineligible.

Thirteen of Alabama’s teams scored higher than the national average of 964.